A data center network is a network applied to a data center, and mainly includes a large quantity of layer 2 access devices and a small quantity of layer 3 devices. Referring to FIG. 1, a data center network is of a layered structure of hierarchical aggregation, and generally includes three layers, an access layer, an aggregation layer, and a core layer.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the layered structure of hierarchical aggregation, when a server 1 needs to send a signal to a server 2, because the server 1 and the server 2 belong to different access layer devices, the server 1 needs to send the signal to an access layer device 1 corresponding to the server 1, and the access layer device 1 needs to send the signal to an aggregation layer device 1. Because the aggregation layer device 1 manages an access layer device 2 to which the server 2 belongs, the aggregation layer device 1 sends the signal to the access layer device 2, and the access layer device 2 sends the signal to the server 2.
It may be learned that a conventional layered structure of hierarchical aggregation is equivalent to a tree-like structure. A signal sent by each server needs to be forwarded by an aggregation layer device and/or a core layer device. With a requirement of an ever-growing quantity of signals to be transmitted, there is an increasingly high requirement on performance of the aggregation layer device and the core layer device. However, an aggregation layer device and a core network device that are with high performance bring about a problem of high networking costs and a subsequent device maintenance difficulty.
Currently, the problem of high networking costs and a device maintenance difficulty in the conventional data center network is usually resolved using a method of removing devices in the conventional data center network, such as the aggregation layer device and the core layer device. That is, a layered architecture of hierarchical aggregation is reconstructed to be a decentralized mesh architecture such that a physical connection channel exists between every two switches. When any server needs to access another server, the server may communicate with the other server using a physical connection channel between a switch connected to the any server and a switch connected to the other server. In this technical solution, a transmission bottleneck problem caused by the aggregation layer device and the core layer device in a signal transmission process is resolved and a purpose of decentralization is achieved, but there is a problem of a large quantity of layout cables in the solution because a direct connection channel is needed between every two switch devices.
It may be learned that the current data center network has the problem of a large quantity of layout cables and a maintenance difficulty.